Portsmouth's home-grown striker, Conor Chaplin, celebrates his 21st birthday today and is key to Pompey's push for League One promotion.

After returning to the Pompey starting line-up Blackburn Rovers mid-week, bagging goals in his last two games, Chaplin really has to be starting games in a two-piece strike-force, providing that extra bit of flair as a young player to add to Pompey's attacking power.

Kenny Jackett has been using one striker for most of the 2017/18 season at Portsmouth, but whether that one striker looks like the experience of seasoned-pro Brett Pitman, or the height and youth of Oli Hawkins, they need the accompaniment of home-grown talent Conor Chaplin.

Pitman is an experienced goalscorer in the Football League, but no longer has the mobility to chase every ball for 90-minutes, whilst Hawkins, who joined Pompey from Non-League Dagenham & Redbridge, has great height and ability but struggles at times to lead the Pompey strike-force on his own.

Chaplin can be the legs for Pitman, chasing down the defenders, running after lost balls, and providing that youthful agility, whilst partnering Hawkins could see Pompey fans comparing similarities to the old Pompey partnership of Crouch and Defoe - the little and large combination.

And it finally seems like Jackett is ready to turn to Chaplin as the answer to his goal-scoring problem.

Jackett told the Portsmouth News: "Conor wants to get on a run, and if I’m looking at him he looks mentally and physically ready to take that on.

"I think he could (get more minutes on the pitch). If you go on what players have done on both Saturday and Tuesday, I was impressed with what he did. Very pleased with him.

"For him, he played quite a lot early season. As things have gone around, things have swung back his way on Saturday.

"We needed a second forward. Someone who was a bit nippier. Mobility and energy are the type of things Conor can bring."

Chants of, "He's one of our own", are regularly heard around Fratton Park, so it's no surprise that Chaplin is a Fratton favourite, but as Pompey seek that extra firepower to push them in to the play-off places, they should be looking at Chaplin as the man to provide the goals.